Randolph High holds vigil for Tommy Hoang

Tuesday

Mar 25, 2014 at 6:20 AMMar 25, 2014 at 2:57 PM

Randolph High students remember Tommy Hoang, who died of injuries from a snowboarding accident.

Allan SteinFor Wicked Local Randolph

Randolph High School junior Duc Chao bit his lip and wiped away tears as he remembered his longtime friend Tommy Hoang, the 16-year-old who was fatally injured in a snowboarding accident in Vermont on Saturday.

“I was a very close friend of Tom’s. He was a very good person to be around all the time. I’d do anything to have him back,” Chao said.

Chao and more than 200 students, school staff and Hoang’s family stood together in a tightly packed group for a candle light vigil held Monday night at the Randolph Community Middle School tennis courts.

With the arrival of twilight, the visitors helped each other light candles, then moved in close around an impromptu memorial the students had created.

The display was a solemn assemblage of blue balloons, flowers, memorabilia, and florescent yellow tennis balls wedged between the spaces of a chain link fence that spelled “Tommy.”

“We were very saddened by the news,” School Committee member Keith Wortzman said as he waited to light his candle. “It is such a tragedy at such a young age. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.”

“It’s a sad day for the family and the community,” said Tina Fegan, a former School Committee member who remembered Hoang as a talented student athlete and a hard working student.

Hoang was proficient in a variety of sports, and he was a beacon of inspiration working with children in the local recreation department’s athletics program, said Recreation Director Marc Craig.

“He was great with kids. Any time we could get him together with kids and athletics, he was right there, ready to go,” Craig said.

Interim Superintendent Steven Moore said the high school was stunned by Hoang’s death.

“It is a very sad day for our staff and our students in the district. We are really proud of the way our students have pulled together,” Moore said.

The high school provided grief counseling for students on Monday, he said.

Town Councilor Kenrick Clifton, speaking at Monday’s council meeting, recalled Hoang’s participation in a recent school charity fund-raiser entitled “A Night of Nations.”

“It was in hindsight that one of his last activities was to give to those who are less fortunate. I think our community has lost quite a shining light,” Clifton said.